It's not like Alaska isn't wilderness - it mostly is. But most Alaskans don't live in the wild. They live on the edge of the wild in towns with schools and cable TV and stores and dentists and roller rinks sometimes. It's just like anyplace else, only with mountains and moose.

They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.

Tom Kizzia hasn't just observed and written about Alaska for three-plus decades, he's lived it. 'Pilgrim's Wilderness' is a story that needed to be told by the only man who could tell it.

In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.

The difference between an optimist and a pessimist? An optimist laughs to forget, but a pessimist forgets to laugh.

You can make a new friend but you can't make an old one.

People feel vulnerable when they travel. Nobody wants to be taken advantage of or talked into something they don't want. Staying at Motel 6 makes you feel smarter. In fact, I think it actually means you are smarter, but I have no hard data to support that.